By Catalina Alvarez | Project Manager
Edwin is from Boyacá, Colombia. When he was 13 years old he found a “metallic tube” on his way home from school. To him it looked like a toy so he picked it up and started fidgeting with it when suddenly the tube exploded. Edwin lost his left arm and was wounded in his chest and stomach.
In 2007, United for Colombia foundation provided him with a state-of-the-art hand prosthesis along with continuous physical and psychological therapy. Since then, United for Colombia foundation has supported Edwin covering maintenance and adjustment costs of his artificial upper limb to preserve the functionality of his prosthesis.
This prosthesis allows him to do what he loves the most: bicycling. His aspiration of being a professional cyclist came to reality when he joined the Colombian Cycling Paralympic Team. Since then, he has participated in international championships in countries like Mexico, Spain, Italy, Netherlands, Switzerland and Canada.
Last March, Edwin was part of the Colombian team on the Rio Paralympic Games. He won a bronze medal in the men´s individual time trial, category C5. It was a huge reward for all these years of training!
Harlen was a 24 year old soldier in the Colombian Army. On May of 2008 during a military operation against guerrillas in the state of Meta, Colombia, Harlen stepped on a landmine that caused the amputation of his legs.
At the beginning he felt as the “The Ugly Duckling”, he thought his life had ended and he wouldn´t be able to find a wife and have a family. All of this changed when he met United for Colombia and got a pair of state-of-the-art prosthesis. His tenacity gave him the ability to walk on the first day and now, even to dance (please click on the link to watch him dancing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SrW-1A0o7Zc). Nowadays, he works as an Inventory Assistant at the distribution center of a multinational company. He is married and has a 7 year old daughter, Paulette.
On December 2015, Harlen was selected from a group of 2000 Colombian runners that wished to run the denominated as the most beautiful running race in the world, the Two Oceans Race in Cape Town, South Africa. In March, he travelled with the other 6 members of the Colombian Team and ran for the first time, 21K in 1 hr 33 minutes. He made Colombians very proud!
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